Sheet material articles in sequence



Dec. 2, 1952 c w VOGT 2,620,205

SHEET MATERIAL ARTICLES IN SEQUENCE Filed July 1'7, 1950 INVENTOR. k5CLARENCE w. VOGT LL 1: 2 By E 7 I8 /I\ ATTORNEY.

Patented Dec. 2, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to improved sheet material articles, such aswrappers, labels, bands, overwraps, etc. arranged in sequence tofacilitate their feeding and use.

It is an object of the present invention to provide sheet materialarticles which may be arranged in a sequence in joined end-to-endrelation and advanced and accurately positioned to permit their beingseparated into individuals after being accurately positioned tofacilitate properly associating the articles with other obiects for use.To illustrate, sheet material articles such as wrappers, labels and thelike, having been appropriately imprinted into individual articles, andconnected together in sequence may be fed as a web and accuratelyregistered with respect to the feeding mechanism to facilitate removalof the individual articles and application to the objects to be wrappedor labeled or the like with the individual articles being accuratelycontrolled and positioned. This permits the production of accuratelylabeled objects, or wrapped packages in which the wrappers areregistered with respect to the objects and therefore imprinting of thearticles will appear at the same location on each of the packages. Froma merchandising standpoint this results in packages having increasedsales appeal.

In the packaging of many objects or commodities, including plasticmasses, such as pound or fractional pound prints of butter or margarine,individual portions of ice cream, cakes or blocks of lard, soap, cheese,etc, it is exceedingly desirable to feed a positive sequence ofenwrapments, while at the same time maintaining accurate positioning ofthe enwrapments during feeding and application to the object. In presentday commercial practice, fractional pound units of butter and margarineare enclosed in wrappers fed from a roll or web on which the printedinatter has been placed in so called repetitive or hitor-miss pattern.Variable lengths are severed from the web and enclosed about the object.This practice is followed because it has not been found practicable on acommercial basis to provide wrappers which may have registered printingand may be applied in registry with the object. Registry controlmechanisms involving the use of photoelectric cells, which may be usefulin other fields, such as the printing of paper, have not beensuccessfully adapted to the feeding of wrappers for plastic objects orcommodities. It is believed that this may be due in part to the factthat in packaging dairy products, sanitation requirements prescribe theuse of hot water and steam periodically to insure maintenance ofsanitation and under the humid conditions encountered, it is exceedinglydifiicult to maintain photoeletcric cell units in continuous troublefreeoperation. Further, the maintenance of such units requires highlyskilled craftsmen which leads to increased costs since mostinstallations do not have maintenance men available who are skilled inthat line. It is therefore another obJ'ect to provide improved sheetmaterial articles adapted for the wrapping of dairy products and thelike which are designed and arranged to facilitate their beingaccurately fed, accurately separated into uniform article lengths inregistry with the printed matter thereon and accurately positioned withthe objects to be packaged. I have found that this new arrangement ofsheet material articles permits a registry control of the individualwrapper lengths without requiring the use of a registry controlmechanism as expensive, delicate and complicated as those which includea photoelectric cell.

A further object is to provide an arrangement of sheet material articleswhich may be fabricated in advance by available printing mechanism sothat individual articles are accurately printed and defined and then maybe fed from a web in such a way that the common boundary betweenadjacent individual articles may be located and properly positioned forsevering or completing separation of the individual articles at apredetermined location.

Another object is to provide an arrangement of prefabricated sheetmaterial articles having registered printing and accurate definition ofindividual article lengths to correspond to the ob- .iects with whichthey are to be associated and adapted to be fed as a positive sequence,without errors or gaps. The importance of this feature may beillustrated in the packaging of plastic material such as butter andmargarine. The accuracy of measurement of such materials and thepreservation of their components and physical characteristics arefacilitated by continuous flow of the materials to and through theapparatus which meters, forms and delivers measured amounts of thecommodity for packing. If the sequence of wrappers is not positive, itmay be necessary to stop the equipment to prevent depositing thecommodity onto the mechanism. Obviously, a positive sequence ofindividual wrappers will speed up the packaging rate and obviate wastageor spoilage of the commodity, thus increasing efficiency and loweringcost.

A still further object is to provide a plrality of sheet materialarticles in joined end-to-end sequence, each article being dimensionedand imprinted in a pattern to correspond to the end use of the article,and such articles being defined or subdivided from each other by a slitwhich extends generally transversely of the web and partiallythereacross, shaped to include a tongue struck from the web at apredetermined location in the region of the common boundary betweenadjacent articles. The provision of such a slit affords flexibility ofan intermediate portion of the web and permits utilization of theflexible portions of the web for measuring and positioning of the web,while appropriate tension for feeding is maintained in other portions ofthe web.

Other objects and advantages will become. apparent from the followingdetailed description, accompanied by the drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a web of sheet material articlesrolled to provide a supply roll and illustrating a preferred form of thepresent invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspectiv view of a modified form of a web of sheetmaterial articles with the web in a zig-zag or ticket-folded arrangementto provide a source of supply from which the web may be. advanced;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary elevationalview with parts broken away toillustrate schematically a form of mechanism for advancing andsuccessively positioning the articles forming the web;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially on line 4-4of Fig. 3 to show details of operation of the mechanism in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially on line 55 ofFig. 3; and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of another modified form ofweb made up of a plurality of sheet material articles and embodying thepresent invention.

For purposes of illustration, the present invention will be described inconnection with improved wrappers and their use for packaging masses ofplastic material, such as, for example, quarterpound sticks of butterand margarine. However, it will be understood that the present inventionis much broader in scope and application. Many other objects orcommodities having a wide variety of shapes and sizes may be packaged.Furthermore, the invention may be advantageously utilized for operationsother than wrapping or packaging. The sheet material articles embodyingthe invention may, for example, be labels, bands, partial or completeoverwraps or other similar items and may be supplied in succession forapplication to or association with a wide variety of receiving surfaces.

Articles embodying the present invention may be fabricated from sectionsof sheet material which may comprise any suitable substance, such asmany types of paper or plastic films, or metallic foil. The sheetmaterial may be of a desired thickness, having sufiioient flexibilityand strength to be advanced and handled in accordance with the presentinvention. Such material may be provided with reinforcement in desiredareas or may be reinforced throughout. It is oftentimes advantageous toutilize composite or laminated sheet materials having two or more pliesto provide the desired characteristics for the end use to which thearticle is intended. Further, it is often beneficial to provide thematerial with appropriate surface coverings useful to increase itsimperviousness, provide better. folding characteristics, and rigidity tothe sheet, to provide adhesive areas, to improve the printability of thesheet material, or the like. The selection of an appropriate materialwill be dependent on the particular adaptation of the invention, and awide variety of materials may be used to advantage. By way ofillustration, the sheet material articles embodying the presentinvention may be wrappers suitable for making packages, such as aredisclosed in my copending applications Serial No. 144,088, filedFebruary 14, 1950, entitled Improved Commodity Package; Serial No.149,672, filed March 15, 1950, entitled Multiple Ply Commodity Package;and Serial No. 165,784, filed June 2, 1950, and entitled Package forPlastic Commodities.

The individual articles are designed and arranged to be fed in asequence or succession as a web. This web may be rolled to provide asource of supply or may comprise a plurality of multiple length sheets,which may be arranged in a zig-zag orticket-folded pack or stack fromwhich a continuous web may be withdrawn. The exterior surface of the webmay be imprinted with the desired pattern of printed matter, such as,trademarks, advertising, manufacturers name and address, designs, artwork and the like. The web may also be provided with crease lines, cutscore lines, slits, adhesive spots, stripes or areas, or other meanswhich will increase the utility of the articles.

In Figure 1 a preferred embodiment of the present invention isillustrated and briefly comprises a web W of suitable sheet materialdefined for subdivision into individual articles or wrappers. Eachwrapper is dimensioned to correspond to the object or commodity to beenclosed thereby, and bears the desired pattern of imprinting,accurately registered with respect to the edges of the wrapper so thatthe completed package will have its pattern of printed matter locatedwith respect to each panel or face of the package. The individualarticles are defined or subdivided from each other by a readilydetachable connection so that the articles are disposed in a joinedend-to-end sequence. The definition of the individual articles ispreferably accomplished by a shaped slit indicated generally by thenumeral l, extending transversely of the web and partially thereacross,intermediate of the side edges of the'web.

The configuration of the shaped slit may be varied, the drawings,however, illustrate a particularly desirable form which includes acentral tongue or flap 2 struck from the web extending rearwardly of thenormal direction of feeding of the web W. Outwardly of or adjacent tothe central tongue 2 are a pair of side tongues or flaps 3 which arestruck from the surface of the web and extend in an opposite directionfrom the tongue 2. The shaped slit terminates in straight line portions4 which are aligned and coincide with the common boundary betweenadjacent articles. The various portions of the shaped slit merge withone another to provide a smooth sinuous slit as indicated in Fig. 1.Further, each slit I is accurately located or registered for the desiredarticle lengths and bears a predetermined spaced relation with respectto the imprinting of the web. The length of the slit and dimensions ofthe tongues are such that intermediate portions of the web will have thedesired flexibility for the purposes to be described, without affectingthe tension with which the web is fed. However, the slit must besufficiently short that the remaining integral connecting portions 5 ofthe web between adjacent articles are sufficiently strong to permitfeeding the web under suitable tension without breaking the web.

To clearly illustrate the features and advantages of this arrangement,the drawings illustrate schematically, portions of a mechanism forsuccessively advancing and positioning individual wrappers so that theymay be accurately located for subsequent operations of separating andapplying individual articles for use. To provide a source of supply,suitably sized rolls of the web may be appropriately supported and theweb withdrawn therefrom. This may be done by driving the supply roll sothat the desired amounts of the sheet material web are fed undercontrolled tension, or one or more pairs of driven feed rolls may pullthe web from the supply roll. Alternately, the web may be withdrawn fromthe supply roll by a rotary feed member on which the operations ofpositioning, separating and applying may all be accomplished.

It is believed preferable to provide relatively uniform tension duringfeeding of the web to compensate for any variations in the lineal speedof advancement of the web which might detract from the accuracy ofpositioning of the articles. A number of mechanisms for controlling thetension of a web within desired limits are available and known in theart, and consequently the drawings do not disclose a particularapparatus for tension control. By way of example, some controlmechanisms apply an appropriate braking force to the source of supply orutilize a slack loop with a movable slack roller moving with the loop toactuate the speed of Withdrawal of the web from its source of supply.

The web W is accordingly preferably advanced under substantially uniformpredetermined tension and may be applied to apparatus where theindividual wrappers are successively positioned for application and use.The positioning of the wrappers is required, because although they mayhave been fabricated to satisfactory specifications, variations arisedue to stretching or shrinking of the web under the feeding conditionswhich vary from the conditions at the time of manufacture andimprinting. For example, changes in the moisture content of the sheetmaterial or the humidity of the surrounding atmosphere or the tension ofthe sheet material may cause appreciable variations in its dimensionswhich adversely affect the registry of the wrappers when they areseparated and used. If the wrappers are in multiple-length web form,such dimensional changes may cause cumulative errors which will preventthe obtaining. of individual wrappers having registered imprintingthereon. Since it is not practicable to duplicate all of the exactconditions at the time of fabrication, a positioning or registry controlapparatus is necessary. By the present invention, the desired resultscan be achieved without the need of expen sive or complicatedmechanisms, such as photoelectric cell mechanisms, differential gearingcorrective units, and the like.

Figs. 3, 4, and 5 illustrate the essentials of a web positioning unitfor use in connection with the present invention. The web W is fed undercontrolled tension to the surface of a member, which in the formillustrated, is a rotary member 6, mounted for rotation on a shaft "I,driven by a suitable source of power (not shown). The member 6 is shownas having a cylindrical or drum-like shape and may comprise a webfeeding member driven in timed relation with other portions of a machinefor completely packaging commodity units. Since a member having a roundor fiat surface onto which the web is fed for positioning, will permitadvancement of the web with a minimum of variation in lineal speed, bothof these arrangements are considered beneficial for providing a surfaceon which adjustment or positioning of the web may be accomplished.However, many other forms of feed members having cross sections, such assquare, hexagonal, octagonal, or even some irregular shape may bedesirable for other adaptations of the present invention.

Disposed at spaced intervals along the peripheral surface 8 of themembers 6 are ribs or finder elements 9 which extend transversely alongthe peripheral surface 8 for a distance less than the length of the slitI and project radially out from the peripheral surface. The elements 9are spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the desired Wrapperlengths and thus as the web is fed to and applied to the member 6, theelements 9 are successively inserted into the slits I. As shown in Fig.3, the finder elements 9 have curved side faces which merge into theperipheral surface 8 of the member 6, so that the central tongue 2 maylie against such curved sides.

At approximately the point where the web W is applied to the elements 9,one or more resilient leaf spring members It may be mounted in astationary position adjacent the peripheral surface of the member 6. Themembers I0 terminate in rounded contact portions which engage and ridealong the central portions of the web to smooth it into engagement withthe peripheral surface 8 and the surface of the finder elements 9 as maybe seen in Fig. 3. It may be noted that due to the presence of the slitI, the tension of the web will be transmitted through the integralportions 5 at the side edges of the web and since the intermediateportions of the Web are more flexible there may be a tendency of thecentral portion of the web not to conform smoothly with the surface ofthe member 5, particularly in the region where the finder element 9 isinserted through the flexed web.

Located adjacent the curved end portion of the member or members It anddisposed centrally of the web in the path of the central portion of thetongue 2, is provided a roller I I, carried by a lever arm I2 which ismounted to oscillate about the pivotal axis indicated by the numeral I3in Fig. 3. One end of the lever arm I2 carries the the roller I I whileits opposite end has mounted thereon a switch contact I4. An opposedcontact !5 may be carried on a leaf spring member It, mounted in astationary position so that the contacts i l and I5 are adjacent eachother. These parts schematically illustrate a precision switch, whichmay preferably be a snap acting type so that a relatively small movementof the roller II will create engagement of the contacts I4 and IE toenergize a suitable electrical circuit. This switch, in effect comprisesa thickness gauge, useful for measuring the presence of sheet materialof the web at the location of the roller I I. To accommodate differentweb thicknesses which may be applied to the member 6, the switch and itsroller ll may be mounted for adjustable movement toward and away fromthe member 6. Precision switches, having adequate sensitivity for eventhe thinner sheet materials, are commercially available in types whichare protectively enclosed and have great durability and long life.

Th roller II is disposed so that its periphery is tangent to or slightlyspaced from the path of the top edges of the finding elements 9. As afinder moves past the roller, the clearance between these two parts isless than the thickness of the sheet material of the web being fed andtherefore, if the web is applied to the member 6, in such a manner thata portion of the central tongue 2 extends onto or overlaps the top edgeof the finder element 9, the thickness of the sheet material willdepress the roller II, oscillating the arm I2 about its pivotal axis I3to close the contacts I4 and I5 and energize an electrical circuit. Thetop edges of the finder elements extend radially outward farther thanother portions of the member 6 in the region of the roller I I so thatthe switch will only be actuated in the manner described.

Between each adjacent finder element 9 a suitable means is provided forvarying the distance between adjacent finders along the peripheralsurface of the member 6. In the form of the invention shown, thiscomprises a flap or gate I'I pivotally mounted on a shaft I8 journaledin the member 6. To urge the flap or gate II into its closed position,where its outer surface is flush with the peripheral surface 8 of themember 6, a suitable torsion spring I9 may be disposed about the shaftI8. One end of the spring I9 is inserted into and bears against aportion of the flap I1 and its other end bears against a portion of themember 6. Each of the flaps I1 is arranged so that it may be located ina position where it is pivoted outwardly a suitable distance, butradially inward of the top edges of the finder elements 9. In its outerposition, the flap II acts to increase the peripheral distance of themember 6 between adjacent finders. This outward position of the flap I1is indicated at A in the lower right hand portion of Fig. 3, while theinner position of the flap I! is indicated by the numeral B at the righthand side of Fig. 3.

To illustrate a form of mechanism for changing the position of the flapsI! from their inner position, as at B, to their outer position, as at A}and vice versa, each of the flaps I! is shown as provided on its innersurface with a roller 2e (see Figs. 3 and 5) These rollers 20 areadapted to be positioned either in a shallow recess 2! or a deeperrecess 22 formed in a bar 23 which is mounted in the member 6 forsliding movement axially of the shaft 1. When the roller 20 is disposedin its shallower recess 2|, the flap I'i is held in its outer positionand when the roller 2!] is in its recess 22 the flap I! is retained inits inner position. A small ridge between the recesses and the torsionspring I 9 serve to retain the fiap I1, in one of its two positions. Toshift the position of the fiaps I'I, each of the slidably mounted bars23 carries a pair of rollers 24 and 25, one at each end of the bar(Figs. 4 and 5). As the member 6 rotates in a counter clockwisedirection when viewing Fig. 3, and prior to the time that a finderreaches the measuring station adjacent the roller II and its associatedswitch, a stationary wedge or cam member 26 is mounted at an appropriatefixed position adjacent an end of the member 6. The wedge 25 is disposedso that it will engage each roller 24 to cause it to move its bar 23toward the right, when viewing Figs. 4 and 5, positioning each roller 20of the flap I? in the recess 2I of the bar so that each flap is in itsouter position, unless the flap is already in this outer position.

The flaps I! may be caused to move to their inner position by a pin orrod 27 mounted at the right hand side of Figs. 4 and 5 adjacent themember 6, in position to engage the periphery of each of the rollers 25of the bars 23 successively. The pin 23 is actuated for movement by asolenoid 28 mounted in a fixed position adjacent the end face of themember 6 opposite to the end face at which the wedge or cam 26 ismounted. Further, the pin 27 is mounted in the path of the appropriateroller 25 a slight distance ahead of the position of such roller whenthe finder at the trailing edge of each individual wrapper is to passadjacent the switch roller II. Such slight distance will be dependent onthe time required to actuate the solenoid 28 and pin 21, and on theperipheral speed of the member 6.

Looking at Fig. 3, the trailing edge of a Wrapper has just been appliedto the member 6 with the finder at the bottom of the Fig. 3 insertedthrough the slit at the trailing edge of the wrapper. The tongue 2 ofthat particular slit has been smoothed by the member I0 and overlaps thetop edge of the finder. The finder is about to pass adjacent theperiphery of the roller I I and with the tongue 2 disposed on the topedge of the finder the roller I I will be depressed, closing the switchcontacts I4 and I5 energizing a suitable electric circuit which willenergize the solenoid 28, causing the pin 2'! to be retracted orwithdrawn from the path of the roller 25 which is about to contact thepin. With the pin 2'! retracted, the bar 23 will not be moved to theleft when viewing Figs. 4 and 5, and the flap I! for the particularwrapper will not be moved to its flush position but will remain at itsouter position. After actuation of the solenoid to retract the pin 27,the pin may be suitably returned to its position intersecting the pathof the rollers 25 prior to the time that the trailing edge of the nextsucceeding Wrapper reaches the measuring station. The pin 21 may bereturned after sulficient delay to allow the roller 25 to pass or may bespring-returned as soon as the leading edge of the roller 25 has passedand in this event the end of the pin may engage and slide over the topsurface of the roller without moving it or its associated bar 23.

In the case of the preceding wrapper applied to the periphery of themember 6 and shown at the right in Fig. 3, when the finder was insertedthrough the shaped slit I at the trailing edge of the wrapper, thetongue 2 did not extend over or overlap the top edge of such finder.Accordingly, the switch was not energized to cause the solenoid 28 towithdraw the pin 21, and therefore, the pin 2'! contacted the roller 25of the bar 23 and moved the bar so that roller 20 was positioned inrecess 22 freeing the fiap I! from its outer position. The torsionspring I9 plus the tension of the web caused the flap I! to move to itsposition flush with the peripheral surface 8 of the member 6, shorteningthe distance along the peripheral surface of the member 6 between thefinders at the leading and trailing edge of the wrapper. The tension ofthe web caused a slight backward movement of the web with respect to thefinder at the trailing edge of the wrapper for a length corresponding tothe shortening of the peripheral distance between the adjacent finders.This backward movement of the Web caused the tongue 2 at the trailingedge of the wrapper to extend further toward the top edge of the finder,as indicated at C in Fig. 3.

It may be seen that the common boundary between each adjacent wrapperbears a definite relationship to the end of the tongue 2 and accordinglythe finder may be used to determine whether the end of the tongue 2 isproperly positioned with respect to the finder. That is, measuring atthe top edge of the finder gives an indication of the position of thetongue 2 with respect thereto, and therefore measures the location ofthe common boundary between adjacent wrappers. If an adjustment in theposition of the wrapper is indicated at the measuring station, it may beobtained by leaving the pin 2'! in position where it will vary theperipheral distance between the finders at the leading and trailingedges of the wrapper.

If the peripheral distance between adjacent finders when the fiap I1 isin its outer position is slightly greater than the maximum length of theindividual wrappers under the conditions actually encountered at thetime of feeding and the peripheral distance between adjacent finderswhen the flap I1 is flush with the surface 8 is slightly less thanminimum length of the individual wrappers actually encountered, thecommon boundary between adjacent wrappers may be successively positionedwith respect to the member 6, within satisfactory close tolerances. Itshould be noted that if a wrapper is applied so that the tongues 3 atthe trailing edge extend over or overlap a portion of the top edge ofthe finder, they are disposed at each side of the roller I I and willnot actuate the switch or affect the peripheral distance of the member 6between adjacent finders.

Under the system of positioning or registry control which has beendescribed, each wrapper is applied along a slightly elongated peripheraldistance between adjacent finders, and if the tongue 2 of a particularwrapper reaches onto or overlaps the top edge of the finder, thisperipheral distance is maintained and the wrapper advanced for gripping,application for use and separation from the web. If the tongue 2 doesnot extend onto or overlap the top edge of the finder at the measuringstation, the peripheral distance between the adjacent finders for thatwrapper is shortened and the web tension correspondingly retracts theweb to adjust the trailing edge of the wrapper with respect to itsfinder in a direction tending to cause the tongue 2 to reach or overlapthe top edge of the finder. Accordingly, the trailing edge of eachwrapper is sue-- cessively positioned, when conditions at the time ofapplication call for positioning, with respect to its associated finderat the trailing edge of the wrapper within acceptable tolerances.

Then, during further advancement of the web by the member 6, eachwrapper may be successively gripped, applied for use and separated fromthe sequence by any suitable mechanism. The gripping, separation andapplication of the individual wrappers are not shown in the drawingsbecause it is not considered that they are essential to the presentinvention. The member 6 may transfer the positioned wrappers to othersuitable mechanism for completing the severance and application for use,or these functions may be accomplished by mechanism carried by orassociated with the member 6.

It should be noted that the arrangement of a sequence of articlesdefined or subdivided by a slit which includes a tongue struck from theweb at a desired location provides flexibility of a portion of the weband permits insertion of a finder and a spreading of the marginal edgesof the slit to accomplish positioning or registry control in a positiveand simple manner as has been described. Further, the mechanism toaccomplish the positioning is simple in design and construction, hasvery few parts which require a minimum of maintenance for efficientoperation. A straight transverse slit will not provide the desiredeffect, since either the leading or trailing marginal edge may overlapthe top edge of the finder element and actuation of the switch will notoccur at only the desired time. Further a straight slit will not providesuitable flexibility of a portion of the web to permit insertion of afinder element without stressing the ends of the slit and even tearingof the integral connecting portions which permit tensioning andadvancing the web.

It is also desired to point out that spreading of the margins of theslit by insertion of a finder and providing flexibility at this point,may be used to advantage to facilitate the completion of the severanceof the web into individual articles and without disturbing theregistered positions of the web. For example, Fig. 1 shows centerlinesindicating the common boundary between adjacent wrappers and it may beseen that they are aligned with the straight line portions 4 at the endsof the slit, in this form of the invention. Pivotally mounted knivesmoving transversely of the web may be mounted in the member 6 adjacentthe ends of the finder and its predetermined relationship thereto. Whenthe knives are actuated, they may cut outwardly in opposite directionsthrough connecting portions 5 of the web after it has been positioned.The force of the knives on the web is applied in equal and oppositedirections and will cause a minimum of disturbance to the position ofthe web. Also, the spreading of the flexible portions of the web byinsertion of the finder permits a substantially aligned out along thecommon boundary even though the adjacent wrappers may be slightlymisaligned with respect to the cutting edges of the knives at the timeof out. Other methods may be utilized for measuring and positioningsheet material articles, such as wrappers, embodying the presentinvention. For example, the member 6 may be arranged so that when theweb is applied to is peripheral surface, the flaps I! are disposed attheir innermost or flush position, and the roller I I at the measuringstation will determine whether the tongue 2 of the trailing edge of theapplied wrapper reaches or overlaps the top edge of the finder. If thetongue 2 of the trailing edge does reach or overlap the top edge of thefinder, the peripheral distance between adjacent finders may beincreased by a slight outward movement of the flap H to adjust orposition the particular wrapper. This form of adjustment, however,requires movement of the flaps I! to cause an additional feedmg ortensioning of the web in order to position the wrappers, and it isgenerally believed advisable to position the web by movement of the fiapinwardly to slightly decrease the web feed and cause a slight backwardmovement of the web, relative to the member 6, when an adjustment iscalled for at the measuring station.

In the methods of positioning of the web which have been described, thecorrection or adjustment has been obtained by varying the peripheraldistance between adjacent finders of the member 6 by a fixed adjustment.If the precision switch mechanism and its feeler roller were mounted totravel with the feed member during a portion of its movement, thepositioning mechanism could be made variable whereby the correctiveaction could be variable and continue until the roller indicated thatthe positioning of the web was correct. A similar result would beapproached if two measuring stations were provided, with each stationcapable of applying a small fixed correction. Measurement and correctioncould occur at the first station, and could be repeated at the secondmeasuring station if warranted by the conditions encountered there. Formost purposes, however, it is believed that sufiicient accuracy can beobtained by making a single fixed correction as has been described inconnection with the drawings.

In the modified form of the invention shown in Fig. 2, a plurality ofsheet material articles in the form of a web W are defined or subdividedby a shaped slit I, which is similar in design and arrangement to theshaped slit I of the web W in Fig. 1. lhe articles, which may comprisewrappers, are illustrated as being of multiple ply construction. Forexample, they may have a ply of suitable reinforcing material 29laminated to desired portions of the web. Fig. 2 shows the reinforcingmaterial as a continuous strip extending longitudinally along the web W,but terminating inwardly of the side edges of the web. If desired, thereinforcing material might comprise individual swatches which do notextend continuously, longitudinally of the web but are superposed andadhered to desired areas of each individual article. Such a multiple plyweb does not readily lend itself to being rolled to create a source ofsupply. Accordingly, it is believed preferable that the web be zig-zagor ticket-folded to provide a flat pack or stack of multiple lengthsheets. Further, it is believed beneficial to form a stack so that twoor more articles are disposed between each fold line to include agreater number of articles for the same stack height, although,obviously, this will depend on the size and shape of the individualarticles. Whenever it can be done, without impairing the strength of theweb necessary for feeding, it is considered advisable that the slits Iextend outwardly slightly beyond the edge of the reinforcing material29, so that separation of the articles from the web may be more readilyaccomplished.

The arrangement of the articles in a ticketfolded stack lends itself tosupplying the articles on a continuous basis, such as for feedingwrappers to package units of a commodity which is produced on acontinuous process apparatus. This may be done by suitably connectingtogether the last article of one stack of wrappers to the first articleof another stack. Fig. 2 shows a pair of folded strips or tapes 35 tosecure the two stacks together by adhering the strips or tapes to thewebs to be joined at their side edges. Any suitable adhesive may beutilized such as that employed on water activated gummed tape or apressure sensitive adhesive, or a thermoplastic adhesive, depending uponthe strength required and upon the end use of the individual sheetmaterial articles. In the case of a web which may be rolled to provide asource of supply as shown in Fig. 1, continuous feeding of theindividual articles may be obtained by the use of suitable mechanism toprovide what is known as a dying splice, by which the leading end of afresh supply roll may be secured to the end portion of a roll which isabout to be exhausted.

The configuration of the shaped slits in the Web may also be modifiedfrom that illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. It is advantageous for smoothoperation that the slit be dimensioned and shaped so that it willoperate in conformity with the size and shape of the finder element. Itis desirable that the tongue or tongues defined by the slit be readilymovable or slidable with respect to the finder element to facilitateapplication of the web, insertion of the finder and positionin of theweb with respect to the finder.

Fig. 6 illustrates a modified form of web W in which the shaped slit isformed by a plurality of H cuts in the web in the region of the commonboundary between adjacent articles. In Fig. 6, a central transverse slit3| extends across the Web intermediate the side edges thereof. At thedesired locations, a pair of longitudinally extending slits 32 intersectthe slit 3 5, providing tongues 33 which extend towards each other fromeach adjacent article and are movable from the plane of the web topermit measuring and positioning of the Web, as has been described. Thefinder element may in this instance be disposed in line with thetransverse slit 3i or slightly ahead or behind thereof, beingsuificiently close to be inserted into the slit and. cause a deflectionof one or both or" the tongues 33 to facilitate measuring andpositioning of the Web. It is also contemplated that the tongues formeasuring and positionin of the web at the trailing edges of thearticles may have other shapes suitable for coacting with a finderelement to provide the desired results. For example, the tongues may beformed by an angular or rounded U- or V-shaped out.

A sinuous slit which is symmetrical with the common boundary betweenadjacent articles as illustrated in Fig. l is considered veryadvantageous because it provides satisfactory flexibility of portions ofthe web for insertion of a finder element as well as providing at leastone flexible tongue for use in measuring and positioning, with a ninimumof encroachment on the individual articles. When the articles arewrappers, one edge of the wrapper will bear a central tongue and asinuous edge while the opposite edge of the wrapper will be sinuous andhave a pair of tongues. It is believed that such sinuous edges will notbe objectionable in appearance, and when overlapped to provide a seam,the tongues may be used for gripping and opening the wrapped package.

The mechanism for utilizin embodiments of the present invention has beenshown schematically in the drawings for purposes of illustration. Manyother mechanisms may be used to advantage for the various applicationsof the present invention, and further, other apparatus may beincorporated. For example it may be desirable to provide a safetycontrol such as a precision switch and feeler roller so that if the webshould break or for other reasons no articles are being fed, the switchwill be actuated to stop the feed member and other apparatus whichoperates in conjunction therewith.

It will be understood that in the drawings, proportions have beenexaggerated in some instances to provide a greater understanding of theinvention.

It will be understood that the foregoing description of preferredembodiments of the invention is for the purpose of explanation andillustration and numerous variations and modifications other than thosewhich have been described may be made without departing from the spiritof the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A plurality of sheet material articles disposed in an end-to-endsequence, said articles being formed from an integral web of sheetmaterial and having shaped slits in the region of the common boundarylines between adjacent individual ones of said articles and extendingpartially across said web inwardly of the side edges thereof, saidshaped slits being formed with portions extending at angles to planes atright angles to the longitudinal axis of the web to form elementsextending in opposite directions longitudinally of said web in theregion of the common boundary lines between adjacent articles, said lastnamed elements forming projections movable from the plane of the web.

2. A plurality of sheet material articles disposed in end-to-endsequence, said articles being formed from an integral web of sheetmaterial and having a sinuous transverse slit extending partially acrosssaid web inwardly of the side edges thereof at predetermined individualarticle lengths, said sinuous transverse slit defining a central tonguestruck from said web and extending across the common boundary linebetween adjacent articles and at least one tongue disposed upon each ofthe opposite sides transversely of said central tongue and extending inan opposite direction from said central tongue across said commonboundary line between adjacent articles.

3. A web of sheet material having a sequence of sheet material articlesimprinted thereon, each of said articles being defined intopredetermined article lengths by slits extending in a generallytransverse direction across said web intermediate of the side edgesthereof, each of said slits defining tongues extending in oppositedirections longitudinally of the web in the region of the commonboundary line between adjacent articles defiectable from said web tofacilitate positioning of said common boundary line, and each of saidslits having portions lying in alignment with said common boundary line,between adjacent articles to facilitate separation of said articles fromsaid web.

CLARENCE W. VOGT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,054,976 McCauley Mar. 4, 19131,575,081 Suk Mar. 2, 1926 2,194,309 Krueger Mar. 19, 1940 I 2,360,845Bronander Oct. 24, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 24,514Australia Sept. 21, 1936

